As we enter the spooky season of the year and all things witchy and wolfy abound, it’s important to take a moment and think about why certain species like bats, cats and wolves are cast as specters lurking around corners . . . just waiting to pounce. We really don’t need to look very far to see where that initial fascination and fear is rooted, as for many it starts with those very, first stories.
Stories, like Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Indeed, the “big bad wolf” may be the longest-standing character in our folklore and modern tales of terror.
Today, we must dispel the myths once and for all and honor wolves and the heroic role they play in the world of wildlife.
Wolves are an apex predator that keeps ecosystems in balance. They’re known as a keystone species, responsible for a trophic cascade of biodiverse benefits.
This year, as we celebrate Wolf Awareness Week, we are reminded that 26 years ago the gray wolf was returned to Yellowstone National Park. With the wolves’ return, the park’s ecosystem, in a state of crisis at the time, not only rebounded but flourished. Once unmanaged elk populations were rebalanced by wolf predation; and the tree and plant life they overgrazed returned to riverbanks, improving eroded shores and inviting back beaver populations. The restored streams and corresponding restored fish populations provided food sources to species like the bald eagle, otter and fox.
The gray wolves of Yellowstone, however, is not the only successful wolf-reintroduction story in the U.S. Gray wolves were also reintroduced to Idaho, followed by Mexican gray wolves to the American Southwest, and Red Wolves, a critically endangered species, to North Carolina. Each of these populations still confronts smear campaigns that seek to demonize the wolf as a predator lurking in the shadows, waiting to collide with human activity. It is in these shadows where the battle between science and emotion plays out and where the fate of the maligned wolf hangs in the balance.
Ranchers with livestock herds in states where wolves are present express concerns about the potential for depredations. Yet, wolves account for less than 0.01% of livestock fatalities.
Wolf restoration has been, and always will be, a priority here at Defenders of Wildlife. We help educate the public about the reality of wolves, that they are inherently shy and avoid conflict and that they are fiercely loyal and loving to their family units, or packs, things to which many humans can relate. We also promote and build coexistence programs on the ground to build social tolerance and fight policy issues through the courts and on Capitol Hill.
Coexistence helps address conflicts while simultaneously working to increase social tolerance. Together, education and conflict-avoidance tools are key to keeping wolves separated and away from where people live and work.
Wolves are magnificent. Their recovery in this country means more than small and scattered populations across millions of acres of wilderness. It means peaceful coexistence with informed communities and proven deterrence methods for ranchers. It means collaboration and cooperation.
Defenders of Wildlife is committed to and engaged in restoring wolves to the suitable landscapes of this country. We are guided by science as we work collaboratively with states and tribal and local communities in a full-scale, solutions-oriented approach to ensure a future for this much-maligned species. And, we hope you will join us not only this Wolf Awareness Week, but every week and every day in celebrating the magnificent wolf and teaching others to do the same.
Wildlife and Wild Places
